Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi has admitted for the first time that he struggled for both form and fitness last season – but believes he is now back to his very best.
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The Argentine ace suffered from niggling hamstring injuries throughout the early months of the 2013/14 campaign and eventually registered his lowest goal tally for five years as the Catalan giants ended up with no major trophies.
Throughout the season, managed by now-Argentina boss Tata Martino, Messi repeatedly insisted that he had recovered from his physical problems and was operating at 100 per cent.
But he has now conceded that was not quite the case, admitting: “I was inconsistent last season. I was out for a while due to injury, missing quite a few games.
“When I came back I didn’t feel right. It was a year that I have tried to quickly forget to try and get back to my best.”
This season has been a different story, however, with Messi shining from his new position on the right wing and firmly reasserting himself above Cristiano Ronaldo in the general consensus for the status of the world’s best player.
Since 2012/13 Toni Kroos has created 60 chances in the Champions League, only Lionel Messi (62) & Franck Ribéry (63) have more in that time.
— Squawka Football (@Squawka) April 14, 2015
The 27 year-old has scored a sensational 45 goals in all competitions – already surpassing his total from last season. Messi is also top of the La Liga assists chart thanks to his extremely promising partnership with Neymar and new signing Luis Suarez.
“I started the season in a different way after what happened to me last season,” he said. “I had a tough year due to events off the field, injury and my form. But this season I started differently and now I feel good.”
Asked if playing alongside Suarez and Neymar had taken some pressure off, as Barca were now not so reliant on him to score goals, Messi replied: “The truth is that I never saw it that way and I never felt obliged to score goals because if I didn’t the team would not win.
“On the contrary, Barca have always had great strikers – not just now with Ney and Luis, who we are making the most of because they are both world-class. They give us not just goals but also plenty of other things, so I am calm.”
Tonight Messi will spearhead his team’s attempts to advance into the semi-finals of the Champions League as Barca travel to the Parc des Princes for the first leg of their tie with Paris Saint-Germain.
